and even sending him the amount of his previous income for all the time that he had been dwelling at Verona. Having arrived in the French kingdom accordingly, His Majesty appointed him master of dies for the mint, and he now settled himself, since so it pleased the king his master, and made up his mind to remain in that country.
He accordingly took a wife in France, and became the father of children, hut they were so entirely dissimilar to himself that he had hut little satisfaction from them. Matteo dal Nassaro was of an exceedingly courteous and obliging disposition, and whoever arrived in France, I do not say from Verona merely, but from Lombardy also, was received by him with the most friendly cordiality.[1] His most intimate friend in those parts was the Veronese Paolo Emilio, who wrote the history of France in the Latin tongue. Matteo had many disciples, among them a Veronese, the brother of Domenico Bruscia Sorzi,[2] two of his nephews, who went into Flanders, and many others, Italian and French, of whom I need not make further mention. Finally our artist died, an event which happened no long time after the death of King Francis of France.[3]
But to come at length to the admirable excellence of Valerio Vicentino,[4] of whom I am now about to speak: this master executed a vast number of works, small and large, in relief as well as intaglio, and every one was finished with a facility as well as beauty that is all but incredible. Had nature imparted to Valerio as much power in design as she gave him patience, care, and rapidity in carving, and diligence in bringing his works to completion, he would not only have equalled the ancients, which he did, but would have very greatly surpassed them; but as it was, his excellent judgment taught him to avail himself for his works of the
- ↑ “He must indeed have been a singularly obliging person,” remarks an Italian commentator, “since he has received the praises of Benvenuto Cellini, who esteemed but few of his brother artists, and could rarely remain at peace with any of them.”
- ↑ Domenico Biccio, a Veronese painter, who zealously imitated Titian and Giorgione; he was called Bruscia-Sorzi burn the mice”), because his father was known as the inventor of means for the destruction of those animals.
- ↑ Francis I. died on the 31st March, 1547.
- ↑ Valerio Belli of Vicenza, born 1479.
